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3.3. Walkthrough: List Processing

List Processing can be a very helpful tool when attempting to combine various kinds of information to create new lists. This tool gives you the ability to expand or narrow any list by including or excluding certain information using other lists that you have created in your database.

 

Creating your Lists

 

1. To use List Processing, you will need to create two or more lists that you will manipulate to achieve a unique list. You can also use any existing list that you have previously saved in your database. A list can be created whenever you have a selection of records – usually created by using the Search tab.

 

You can use any of these search options to find a list of records.

 

2. Once you have entered your search parameters and searched the database for records that match your criteria, you will have a list of records, with a "List Functions" box on the right-hand side.

 

3. Under List Functions, click Save Results as New List and enter a name for your list. Follow the same steps to create your second list, and any other lists you might be manipulating. Once you have created all of your lists, you are ready to use List Processing.

 

List Processing

 

1. Mouse over Search and choose List Processing. You will see a screen with a Venn diagram, and a number of options. These options will allow you to combine your lists in any way.

 

2. Click on the text box under List A to select your first list by searching for the name. Do the same for List B. Please note that for the "Difference" option, the order of your lists will matter, while the order for the "Join" and "Intersection" will not - this will be explained further.

 

For example, let's assume that List A is all donors in your database ("All Donors"), and that List B is all individuals with a home address in Oregon ("All Oregon Residents").

 

a. Join: selecting "Join" will create a list that contains all records from both lists. In our example, this would give you a list of all donors and all Oregon residents.

 

Please note: a record can only appear on a list one time. This means that if a record belongs to both List A and List B, it will still appear only once on your newly created list.

 

b. Difference: selecting "Difference" will create a list that contains all records in List A that are not in List B.  All members of List A that also belong to List B would be removed. In our example, this would give you a list of all donors except those that live in Oregon.

 

Please note: as mentioned before, the order of your lists for Difference is very important – reversing the two lists would give you a different result.

 

In this example, you would create a list of all Oregonians who did not donate, whereas in the first list you created a list of all donors except Oregonians.

 

c. Intersection: selecting "Intersection" will create a list of only those individuals who belong to both lists. In our example, this would give you a list of all donors in (and only in) Oregon.

3. Once you have made your selection and named your new list, click Process and Create New List. You will now have a new list saved in your List Manager (also under the Search tab) – both of your original lists will be retained.